Signal for railways.



No. 891,763. PATENTED JUNE 23, 1908.

I G. D. 00X.

SIGNAL FOR EAILWAYS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 11, 1908.

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uuuuuuuuuuu w vweuloz Q/Vitmwou I anew No. 891,763. PATENTED JUNE 23, 1908. G. D. COX.

SIGNAL FOR RAILWAYS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.11, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

vwemfoz v GEOYGE D. COX, OF LUKE, MARYLAND, ASSIGXOR OF ONE-HALF TO OF LUKE, MARYLAND.

' tail of the mechanism on the-tender UNITED sTATEs PA EN OFFICE.

JOSEPH r. LAUGHLIN,

SIGNAL FOR RiAILWAYS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 23, 1908.

-danger position, and will require the station operator to ma'nually hold the signal when the safety signal is to be ex osed.

It also combines a shiftable ra1l on the track at the station which is mechanically connected with the meghanism that operates the semaphore arms, so that said rail will automatically be moved into its opera- .tive position simultaneously with the exposure of the danger signal, and manually moved out of its operative position simultaneolusly with the exposure of the safety si ns The invention also combines means on the locomotive or tender for automatically venting the train-pipe of the air-brakes, to cause the brakes to be applied in the event of the engineer running past the danger signal.

The invention also combines a lever and suitable mechan'ical connections whereby the said two si nal arms, and the said shiftable rail may be simultaneously moved by the manual intervention of thee erator, to the safety position, and which wil remain in that position only while the operator holds it, and will automatically return to the danger position'as soon as the operator releases his hold.

Theinventio'n is illustrated in the accompanying drawings;' in which,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the signal mechanism at the station.- Fig. 2 is a side view showing the relative position of the railroad track, signal post, shiftable rail, and

.certain of the air-brake parts on a tender.

Fi 3 is an elevation taken cross-wise of the rai road track, and showing the tender on the track, shiftable rail, signals, and mechanism in the signalv tower. Fig. 4 shows a dey for venting ,the train-pipe of the air-brake.

A signal post, 1', supports two pivoted semaphore arms, 2, and, 3, one for danger and the other for safety and the two arms are connected by mechanism which Wlll always cause one or the other arm to be projected horizontally as a signal to the engineer of an approaching train. The two arms are shown on one and the same pivot shaft, 4, but at opposite sides of the post, 1, and their relative osition with respect to each other is that of a right angle; thus when one arm has the horizontal or displayed position the other arm will have the pendent or ver tical position, as indicated in Fig. 3.

The construction is such that normally the danger signal arm, 2, will be shown in the horizontal or displayed position by the action of the mechanism. The signaltower is denoted by the wall, 5, and the floor, 6. Resting on this floor is the frame, 7, of the signal-lever, 8. This lever is kept normallyin the danger position (shown in Fig. 3) by means of a spiral spring, 9, on the rod, 10, which is connected with said lever.

While the two signal arms, 2, and, 3, in the present instance are mounted -on one pivoted-shaft, 4, such construction is not essential; the danger signal arm, 2, has a rod, 11,- that connects with one end of a lever, 12, on the post and arod, 13, attached at the other end of said lever connects with a lever-arm, 14, which is rigid on one end of a rock shaft, 15, that passes through the signal post, 1. The safety signal arm, 3, has a rod,- 16, that connects with a lever-arm, 17, which is rigid on the other end of the rockshaft, 15. This construction, it will be seen, so connects the two signal arms that when one arm is raised to the horizontal position the other arm will necessarily-be lowered to the pendent position, indicated'by broken lines in Fi 3.

A shifta le rail, 18, rests u on the ends of the cross-ties parallel with t e rails of the main track, and may be moved toward or away from said main track rails. When this rail, 18, is moved toward the main track rails it has its operative position, that is, the

position where a roller, 19, on a locomotive or tender (in the present instance it is shown on a tender, 20,) will traverse said rail and by so doing will cause the air-brakes to be applied. Two or-more short linl s,-'21, are attached-to the base-flange oi" the shiftablc rail, 18, and project horizontally therefrom;

and two or more bell-crank levers, 22, are

and one end'of each of said levers connects with one 01 said links, 21. A 1'od,'24, parallel with the rail connects the other ends of all normal running position.

of said bell-crank levers.

This invention has nothing to do with the construction or improvement of the wellknown automatic air-brake. The tender, 20, will be supposed to be equipped with this air-brake including the tra1np1pe, 25, which is always a part of such brake apparatus.

The train-pipe is provided with an ordinary rotary plug-valve, 26, see Fig. 3, which is capable of making a quarter turn; when the round plug is turned to one position,-a passage diametrically through the round plug forms a continuous passage coincident with the passage'in the said pipe, 25 this is the The case that incloses the round plug has a hole that opens to the atmosphere. When the round plu is given a quarter-turn so as to bring anot er passage in the plug into coincidence with the said hole in the case, then the compressed air in the train-pipe will be vented to the atmosphere, and the reduction of pressure in thepipe1 thus produced will cause the brakes to a The tender, 20, has at its bottom a downprojecting pedestal, 27, provided with a vertical passage, 28; a shank or bar, 29, fits in this passage and is movable up anddown therein and at its lower projecting end carries the roller, 19, hereinbefore named, which traverses along the shiftable rail, 18. A spiral spring, 30, in the verticalpassage, 28, presses the shank and roller downward, and the shank has teeth, 31", which forms a rack. A segment-shaped toothed quadrant,

32, is mounted on a rock-shaft, 33, one end of which is attached to the valve-plu 26, of the airaptiikeipipe and the other'en of which turns in t The toothed quadrant, 32,- engages with the 1e down-projecting pedestal, 27.

teeth, 31, of the shank. An arm, 34 (see Fig. 4) is on the rock-shaft and serves to turn the shaft and quadrant and thereby raise the shank, 29, and roller, 19, a ainst the downpressure of thespring, 30. is movable horizontally in the down-pro ect ing pedestal, 27, and is pressed against the shank, and the shank, 29, has a notch, 36 when the shank and roller are raised by turning the arm, 34, the spring-bolt, 35, will ,engage the notch, 36, on the shank and thereby the roller, 19 will be held at such an elevation as will prevent it from contacting with the shiftable rail, 18.

A lever, 37, on the exterior of the downprojecting pedestal has engagement with the s ring-bolt,- 35, and when the engineer moves t iis lever the said bolt may be disengaged from the notch, 36, on the roller-shank, and thereu on the spring, 30, will force the shank and roller. 19. downward to a position where spring-bolt, 35,-

the roller will ride up on the shiftable rail, 18. When the roller, 19, is raised by riding up on .the inclined end of the shiftable rail, the

rock-shaft, 33, will be partly turned and this Wlll give a quarter turn to the plug-valve, 26,

which will result in venting the train=pipe and cause the air-brakes to be applied and stop the train.

The mechanical connection between the two si nal arms, 2, and, 3, on the post, 1; the signal ever, 8, in the tower, and the shifting rail, 18, that causesthe air-brakes to be applied will now be described. A bell-crank lever, 38, is on the signal os below the rock-shaft, 15, being secured y a ivot-bolt, 39; one end of-the' said bell-crank ever has a wei ht, 40, to counterbalance the 7 weight of the anger signal arm, 2. A link rod, 41, connects the lever-arm, 14, heretofore named, with the weighted end of the bellcrank lever, 38.

The link-rod, 41, isshown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 2, and its location can also be seen where it is broken off in Fig. 1. The weight, 40, in Fi 3 is shown in its down position, and signa arm, 2, inits up osition. Alink'rod, 42, connects between t c said bell-crank lever, 38, and the shiftable rail, 18, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. This link rod, 42, insures a correct coo erative movement between the changing o' and, 3, and t e shifting of the rail, 18. i Referring now to Fig. 3.- As alread stated the s iral spring, 9, is around the ro 10, to Whic .the o erators hand-lever, 8, is attached.- The spring, 9, will normally hold the signal-operating lever, 8, at the danger 18, at the danger position.

Attached to the rod, 10, is a bell-crank lever,- 43, near the floor of the tower which works or 'moves in a vertical plane. other bell-crank lever, 44, is also movable in a vertical lane near the round; a rod, 45, connects t c said two be -crank levers, 43, and, 44.

ositions of the signal arms','2, I

position, also the signal arm, 2,-and the rail,

A bell-crank lever, 46, has position ina horizontal lane even with-the rod, 24, that is 'connecte' with the several bell-cranks, 22, which serve toshift the rail, 18. A rod, 47,

connects the bell-cranks, 44, and, 46.- This I said shiftable rail and move a valve in the 130 connecting train-pipe of the nal arms, the said shiftable rail and the sig nal-operating lever, whereby the parts named 2. In a railway slgna connected together; a s

be at the safety position only when the o erator. v

the combination of a signal post having two ivoted signal arms hjitable rail alon side the main track for operating the air-bra e of manually held by a train; a signal-operating lever; a spring to keep the said lever thrown normally to the danger position, and mechanical connec- 1.5

tions between the pivoted signal arms, the said shiftable rail, and the operating lever.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE D. cox.

Witnesses:

CHAS. A. HOWARD, WALTER F. Cox. 

